Efrim Manuel Menuck has made a name for himself, as both Black Emperor of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Silver Mt. Zion of Thee Silver Mt. Zion. But on February 2, he’s going to make a new name for himself: his actual name! For on that date, Constellation will be putting out Pissing Stars Menuck’s second solo album, and first since 2011’s Plays “High Gospel”.
Of all things, Menuck states that Pissing Stars was inspired by the short-lived relationship between Mary Hart and Mohammed Khashoggi. In a romantic archetype as old as time, she was the host of Entertainment Tonight and he was the son of a Saudi Arabian arms dealer, but somehow not even love could bridge the divide.
That aside though, the record really seems to be about feeling despair, but also a certain kind of uplifting feeling upon reaching the bottom. But don’t take my word for it! See what Efrim Menuck himself had to say about his newest record…
“this record was made in dark corners between 2016 and 2017. a very rough pair of years, shot thru with fatigue, depression, despair, and too many cigarettes and too much booze. but also = the giddiness of enervation, and the strange liberation of being emptied – borne aloft and carried by the drift. the world continues its eternal collapsing, fires everywhere and everything drained of meaning. this record was made in various states of unease, with a brittle heart and a clear intent. like running towards a cliff with 2 swinging knives, roaring with an idiot grin. overcome and overjoyed. this record is about the end of love and the beginning of love. this record is about the dissolution of the state, and all of us trapped beneath, and the way that certain stubborn lights endure.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself, thanks Efrim!
Read an extremely dated Washington Post article from 1986 on Mary Hart, containing about the only mention of her being tied to Mohammed Khashoggi I could find, here. Pissing Stars, meanwhile, is out February 2 via Constellation (their first release of the new year!), and it can be pre-ordered on vinyl from Constellation’s store or digitally from from Menuck’s Bandcamp. Check out the album’s full tracklisting, and listen to “LxOxVx / Shelter In Place” down below.
Pissing Stars tracklisting:
01. Black Flags Ov Thee Holy Sonne
02. The State And Its Love And Genocide
03. The Lion-Daggers Of Calais
04. Kills v. Lies
05. Hart_Kashoggi
06. A Lamb In The Land Of Payday Loans
07. LxOxVx / Shelter In Place
08. The Beauty Of Children And The War Against The Poor
09. Pissing Stars
More about: Efrim Manuel Menuck, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion
